Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) announces the 30th edition of its rigorous Italian Wine Ambassador Certification Course, taking place for the first time ever in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 16-18 November 2024 at IWine, Dostyk Avenue, 109/1.
VERONA, Italy, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- For its landmark 30th edition, Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) makes a momentous debut in Kazakhstan, hosting the event in Almaty. This expansion provides Italian wine professionals across Eurasia with unparalleled access to the expertise and opportunities offered by the prestigious VIA course. The Candidates will gather in Almaty to participate in two days of tastings and a series of in-depth lectures, focusing on Italy's most important wine producing regions as they prepare for the grueling exam on day 3 to become certified Italian Wine Ambassadors.
Why Almaty, Kazakhstan
Almaty is one of the of Central Asia, and that's the most densely populated city of Kazakhstan, which is rapidly becoming an emerging pivotal market for Italian wine producers. 30% of the wine imported in the country comes from Italy for a revenue of around 8 million euros in 2023. Italian wines, indeed, happened to pair well not only with the Italian cuisine but also with local food.
Darya Nagornyak IWA from Kazakhstan said: "If you want to dive into the world of Italian wine, gain the deepest knowledge and make friends around the world - VIA Kasakhstan is the right choice!"
What is Vinitaly International Academy
The Vinitaly International Academy certification course, organised by Veronafiere and Vinitaly, isrecognised as the gold standard of Italian wine education. All elements of the course are carefully curated by VIA Faculty Sarah Heller MW assisted and advised by Chief Scientist Professor Attilio Scienza. The ethos behind the course is a sound scientific focus on the native grapes of Italy and on the characteristics of the 20 regions' biodiversity, history, culture, and business. The VIA Community, now encompassing 48 countries worldwide, proudly includes over 1,300 participants who have taken the course, with 393 successfully passing the exam to become certified Italian Wine Ambassadors. Among these distinguished ambassadors, 16 hold the esteemed title of certified Italian Wine Experts.
Students who take the VIA course come from every aspect of the wine sector, including educators, journalists, importers, hospitality, retailers, and beyond. Faculty member Sarah Heller MW reflected on the impact of VIA, "We invite students to join a profound and up to the minute conversation about Italian wines and what makes them so unique in the world, giving them new tools to communicate these wines and the solid foundation to become true Ambassadors, promoting Italian wines around the world."
Members continue to participate throughout the year in events such as Gita Scolastica (Academic Field Trips all across Italy), gathering in Verona to judge at 5StarWines – the Book, attending OperaWine and wine2wine Business Forum, and continually increasing their knowledge and growing their connections across the wine sector.
Applications on Vinitaly website for the Italian Wine Ambassador Certification course are now open. For more information please contact [email protected].
Vinitaly Roadshow Almaty, Kazakhstan 2024
The first edition of Vinitaly Roadshow Almaty, Kazakhstan 2024 will be held on November 18th in the exclusive venue of Rixos Almaty Hotel.
The B2B event is powered by Italian Wine Podcast and stands as golden ticket for Italian wine producers and importers who want to break the market in Central Asia. Participants will have the chance to showcase their wines by taking part in the walk around tasting and private masterclasses, connecting with local wine professionals from the trade and communication sectors.
Single producers, cooperatives and consortia are all welcome to take part in the event, so do local wine importers who'd like to promote and sell Italian wines across the area. The registration deadline is September 20th. For more info please write to: [email protected].
About: Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) aims to be the gold standard of Italian wine education. It offers a complete educational path with standardized courses that will teach professionals and educators to master the diversity of Italian wine in a rigorous, organized manner. VIA's main objective is to foster a global network of highly qualified professionals such as Italian Wine Ambassadors and Italian Wine Experts: in turn, they will support and promote Italian wine throughout the world. VIA was founded by Stevie Kim, Managing Partner of Vinitaly. The new VIA ecosystem avails of the guidance of Italian trade associations Federdoc, Federvini, Vignaioli Indipendenti FIVI, and Unione Italiana Vini as members of the Institutional Advisory Board. Italian vine genetics scholar, Prof. Attilio Scienza, oversees VIA's scientific and educational direction as the Chief Scientist. VIA Faculty Sarah Heller MW teaches the flagship Italian Wine Ambassador course. To date, there are 393 Certified Italian Wine Ambassadors of which 16 are also Italian Wine Experts.
Media Contact
Vinitaly International Academy, Veronafiere, 0458101447, [email protected],
SOURCE Vinitaly International Academy
![](https://rt.prnewswire.com/rt.gif?NewsItemId=UN69931&Transmission_Id=202407260600PR_NEWS_USPR_____UN69931&DateId=20240726)
Share this article